Etymograph

English

contrite

Contrite comes from Latin contrītus ‘bruised, crumbled’, from terō ‘rub, wear away’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *terh₁-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*terh₁-1‘to rub, turn’reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEterō1‘rub, wear away’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEconterō1‘grind, bruise’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcontrītus1‘bruised, crumbled’literally ‘ground to pieces’perfect passive participle of conterō
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400contrit1
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500contrit1
  7. Englishearliest quotation a. 1600contrite1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English contrite
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: a. 1600, Richard Hooker uncertain, Of the Lawes of Ecclesiastical Politie: “Secondly, that even where contrition or inward repentance doth…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*terh₁-Wiktionary, English contrite‘to rub, turn’reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEterōWiktionary, English contrite‘rub, wear away’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEconterōWiktionary, English contrite‘grind, bruise’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcontrītusWiktionary, English contrite‘bruised, crumbled’literally ‘ground to pieces’perfect passive participle of conterō
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400contritWiktionary, English contrite
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500contritWiktionary, English contrite
  7. Englishearliest quotation a. 1600contriteWiktionary, English contrite. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: a. 1600, Richard Hooker uncertain, Of the Lawes of Ecclesiastical Politie: “Secondly, that even where contrition or inward repentance doth…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *terh₁- ‘to rub, turn’

turn, throw, thread, tournament, threshold, tragic, trout, detour, thrash, tyrone, tourney, tourniquet, triage, termite, thresher, tyro, thresh, derma, truant, 40 more

through Latin terō ‘rub, wear away’

detrimental, detriment, attrition, tribulation, detritus, 8 more

Today it means

adj Sincerely penitent or feeling regret or sorrow, especially for one’s own actions.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “contrite”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *terh₁- / contrite

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